2026 Land Cruiser, a Japanese sports car

There’s a famous quote attributed to Enzo Ferrari that the “Jeep is America’s only real sports car.” I remember hearing that quote in the days leading up to the unveiling of the mk5 Supra. I never forgot it, it was such an interesting thing to hear at the time. He said it in the context of the 1940s and 50s when everything in America was becoming a massive land yacht full of chrome and nonsense that served no purpose. He argued that the Jeep was the only car, down to every bolt, panel, and hinge that was designed for one purpose, sport. Recreational, outdoor, adventure sports. That quote resonates till this day. A sports car is designed with a clear purpose and compromises some things to achieve that purpose. This concept is true of the Land Cruiser and how it’s evolved till this day. The Land Cruiser used to be a lot like the Jeep, but the luxury creep of the last few models in the USA have definitely fattened them up into chrome land yachts whose purpose aligns more with soccer moms going to the mall, old men who want to drive their car to 500k miles, and 3rd and 4th owners of used vehicles obsessed with the perception of quality. While all of these things are valid reasons to like or want the Land Cruiser, they were never the point or purpose. The purpose was always out door recreation and sport. The beauty of the Land Cruiser is its utility and the adventure that brings. The Land Cruiser is a Japanese sports car. Now every day I hear, on this forum and others, about how this new generation of Land Cruiser is awful. They are upset because of this cylinder count here or this measurement there. It’s all noise. The loud noise of a vocal minority. They used to say the same thing about the mk5 Supra and its BMW partnership. Those people are sure quiet now. In fact, every-time Toyota releases a new enthusiast car, people hate it initially and love it when it’s gone. Just look at the LFA, where it started and how it’s ended. The fact of the matter is that this Land Cruiser is amazing and selling like you wouldn’t believe. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, of people around the world are enjoying the car and the adventures it brings in ways that weren’t happening with the previous model. That alone is something to be thankful for. Dislikes Hybrid engagement: The electric motor does not engage often enough for my liking. This is the biggest learning curve. Unlike a RAV4/Camry where you "feather" the gas to stay in EV mode, the i-FORCE MAX wants you to slam the pedal. If you're gentle, it defaults to the ICE and feels sluggish. If you floor it, the Turbo and EV systems sync up and the car actually flies. It’s counter-intuitive but way more fun once you figure it out. When you’re at speed and start cruising, that’s where the MPGs kick in. Confusing drive modes: ECO doesn’t seem to make any difference and some say (I’d agree) that it actually makes worse MPG. I feel there is no reason not to be in sport/normal all the time. If you engage all the power to get to cruising speed an then coast, the MPG is impressive (25-30 on highway) City driving mpg: Unlike regular hybrids, the LC 250 gets poor mpg in the city and stop and go bumper to bumper traffic. Likes The "Gundam" Aesthetic: It looks like a tank-mech from the future. It’s the perfect blend of retro-rugged and futuristic. It has a presence that the more "rounded" previous generations lacked. Powertrain smoothness: I don’t care what anyone says, this powertrain, when working in harmony, is an absolute joy to drive day in and day out. The best parts of my day are in this car lately. I’m averaging about 22.7 mpg (increasing in warm weather) and feel like I have plenty of power to do anything I need in daily driving. Off the rip, it can be fast if you roll it a little. It’s not a sports car but it is plenty for an off-roader. Swiss-army knife factory: The feeling of comfort knowing this car can handle any situation/terrain/emergency is a REAL luxury not to be overlooked. Flooded streets? No problem. Once in a lifetime blizzard followed by rain turning everything into an icey hellscape? No problem, glide right over it. Summer days wanting to enjoy the sun? Open the windows and sunroof and you have a breezy open air experience in the tall cabin. Customization: Where do I even start with this, this is why you buy this car over a GX or other luxury cars. You can modify the car in so many ways. Everyday more parts are released. You don’t have to cut the car up to put huge wheels on it like the previous models. Anyway, those are my thoughts for now and will have more in the future to share. Next step is wheels and tires. As of now I’d rate the car: 8/10 overall 7/10 city driving, smooth and comfortable, good visibility, bad mpg 7/10 highway driving, wind noise can be annoying 9/10 off-road, can’t get much better at the price point 9/10 cool factor, pretty damn cool Photos: https://imgur.com/a/IRMGJ8N submitted by /u/generalright [link] [comments]